A man from Yorkshire who was wanted by the National Crime Agency for trafficking weapons and ammunition has been sent back to prison and charged with drugs offences after being arrested in Spain.

It brings to an end a three year period of evading police in both countries.

Clinton Blakey, 38, from Leeds, was accompanied on a flight back to the UK on Thursday evening by an extradition team from the National Crime Agency’s Joint International Crime Centre (JICC).

He was arrested in a vehicle in Marbella on May 17 following a surveillance operation.

Clinton Blakey who was wanted by the National Crime Agency for trafficking weapons and ammunition has been sent back to prison and charged with drugs offences after he was arrested in Spain.

Blakey is suspected of being part of an organised crime group involved with moving firearms and ammunition from Liverpool to Leeds.

He is allegedly linked to seizure of a Howa bolt-action rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition from a house in Leeds in 2020 and has been on the run after failing to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court to face the charges.

NCA investigators traced Blakey to Madrid in 2021, where he was arrested by Spanish police but he fled again after being given bail in Spain.

Yesterday (Friday), at Leeds Magistrates’ Court, in addition to the firearms and ammunition charges, he was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs. These new charges relate to the same timeframe as the alleged firearms and ammunition offences.

Blakey was immediately put into custody and will serve the rest of an eight-year sentence from a separate drugs conviction after breaching his licence conditions.

His initial arrest followed that of Paul Shepherd’s, a former professional footballer, who was convicted for his role in storing weapons and awaits sentencing.

Both men’s arrests triggered a number of others across West Yorkshire, Merseyside and the North East, all linked to Operation Venetic - the UK law enforcement response to the takedown of encrypted communications platform EncroChat.

Nigel Coles, NCA Operations Manager, said: “Blakey was arrested after an intelligence led operation between the NCA and Spanish National Police Organised Crime Fugitive Team.

“Following an intense period of research and surveillance he was detained in a vehicle in Marbella and transported back to the UK.

“Firearms and the supply of Class A drugs are inextricably linked and are often the cause of violence and exploitation in communities.”

Yorkshire fugitive who has been on the run for three years is arrested in Spain